


Kept to the Hallway (working title)

by cactustipper



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: M/M, chapters will be tagged, humor in here too bc i cant make up my mind, mentions of child abuse and mental illness stemming from it, modern au with american school system man, title and tags will be added as story goes on and rating may go up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-05-09 21:33:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14723976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cactustipper/pseuds/cactustipper
Summary: Robin grew up in Plegia, before his abusive father escaping the law moves he and his sister to a new country, Ylisse.It's hard at first, but Robin finds refuge with his close friend, Chrom.9/1/18 - intending to go through and re-edit fic, thank you for your patience!





	1. Ylissean

The boy sat patiently on the edge of the girl's bed, watching her as she typed and typed and typed on her phone. Her long black nails clicked against the device, then would cease, opting instead to slide her thumb over the screen. He assumed she was scrolling through social media; he could only see her hand wrapped around the back of her phone.

They appeared to be siblings; both had brown eyes and white hair, with their skin being on the darker end of what could be described as olive.

The boy was young, and looked to stand perhaps a few inches over four feet. The girl, however, was on the cusp of adulthood. Her body was mature and with the length of her legs, it wouldn't be a shocker to say she must have been nearly six feet tall.

She pushed a button on the side of her phone, then tossed it onto her pillow. She rolled to her stomach and rested her chin on her hands, lifting her feet into the air.

"Sorry for the wait, Baby Brother," she said. His nose crinkled at the nickname. "How may I assist you?"

He pulled his legs up to cross them on the mattress. "Can you help with my Ylissean?" His voice was high with immaturity, and the girl couldn't help but chuckle at it.

"You're much faster with it than I am," she replied. "You've probably gotten ahead of me at this point."

The boy tried speaking in the other language now. " _We need it in two months. Do we practice?_ "

She gave him a smile. " _We need it, you are right. Do you need tense help?_ "

" _You sound that you need it, too_."

They both giggled, figuring they sounded rather unnatural. The boy often studied on his own, working on pronunciation and vocabulary and such. His sister was right in that she wasn't as keen to learn the language as he was, but he practiced it with her whenever he could.

" _You talk to me_ ," the girl said. " _Why do we need it?_ "

" _You_ tell _me_ ," her brother corrected. " _But we need it for school in… uh… August and one._ "

" _September. What is 'talk' and what is 'tell'?_ "

" _Talk is 'I talk' and tell is 'I talk at you.' Do you understand?_ "

She nodded. " _I maybe understand. What is your name in Ylissean?_ "

" _My name is Robin. What is your name?_ "

" _My name is Aversa._ "

The girl then let out a breath, switching back to their native tongue. "This is _much_ too strenuous. It's making my head ache."

"Aw, _c'mon_ Aversa!" Robin whined. "We only did stuff we know already!"

"Sorry, love, you're much more patient than I." She reached out and ruffled her brother's pearly hair. "Besides, Validar's supposed to be back soon."

He pursed his lips and gave a quick nod. Their father despised hearing Ylissean at home, and it only made the boy dislike him more than he already did. And his sister was the one person alone he could talk about that with.

 

 

_Robin sat on the curb alongside Henry, picking blades of grass out of the cracks of the sidewalk. "What time is it?" he asked his friend. Robin didn't have a phone, but he knew Henry did._

_"Time for you to get a watch." Robin didn't respond. "Calm down, would ya?" Henry chuckled. The other white-haired boy took the device out of a pocket on the side of his backpack, clicking it on. "Four o'clock sharp," he replied, before slipping it away again. "Say, Robin."_

_"Hm?"_

_"Where's your dad?" Henry asked. "My mom's always this late 'cuz a' work but your dad's not. Where is he?"_

_Robin opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when he saw his friend's mother's red Honda Accord pulling into the parking lot. "I'll see ya tomorrow."_

_"Hold on." Without waiting for a reply, Henry turned and jogged to the car, then came back after speaking to his mother a moment. "I'm gonna stay here with you," he said once he came back. "My mom said I can 'til your dad comes."_

_Robin blinked, grateful that he wouldn't have to wait alone._

 

 

"You think that's why we're moving?" he asked suddenly. "To Ylisse, I mean."

His sister looked at him quizzically. "What?"

"'Cuz Validar's mean."

Aversa scoffed, lowering her phone from her face. "I bet he thinks _Plegia's_ mean to _him_. But to answer your question, yes, I do think that's why."

Seeming to realize something, she sat up and carefully took Robin's shoulders in her hands.

"Aversa?"

"Listen, Robin," his sister said, lowering her voice. "This is extremely important."

"Uh-huh," he responded, curious as to where this was going.

"I need you to do your best this upcoming school year, while I figure things out for us."

"Huh?" He felt his heart begin to race. "Whaddya mean?"

"Just hang in there for me when we get to Ylisse, Little Bird. I'll take care of the rest, okay?"

That was what their mother used to call him. His sister never used it around their father.

But right now, Robin wasn't anywhere remotely near sad, and didn't know why she was using the nickname. He sensed that whatever she was talking about was somehow important, though. More important than he could know at the moment.

"Okay," he answered, still unsure of what Aversa was getting at, let alone how he was supposed to reply.

She then pulled him into a hug, causing Robin to nearly fall forward. Once regaining his balance, he scooted closer and gently rested his forehead against her shoulder. He felt rather confused as to why she was being so serious and so affectionate, but he always reciprocated, whenever he could.

There wasn't anyone besides his sister left in the world for him to hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> robins about 9 here, going into fourth grade for reference. aversas 17. in the flashback, about first grade.
> 
> cant wait for the story to pick up. next chapter will be up in 3 or so days im thinking.


	2. The Plegian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: child abuse implied

_"My father's usually pretty late," Robin said, kicking a pebble. He heard it bounce across the pavement, but he couldn't tell where it went with how it blended into the asphalt._

_"Really?" Henry tilted his head. "That's weird."_

_Robin shrugged. "I dunno."_

_"D'ya wanna call him?"_

_He shook his head. His father almost never picked up._

 

 

He patiently rode the school bus, looking out the window at the different yards of each house. Some were covered in light brown leaves already, while others were covered in acorns and pinecones. There were plenty of trees that hadn't lost any leaves yet, with some still being positively green, but it was only a matter of time until they all succumbed to the changing of seasons.

The boy usually sat closer to the aisle to talk to other kids, but his younger sister had wanted the spot. She wasn't a stranger to throwing tantrums, and he didn't want to start anything on their first day of school.

Their mother had given him strict instructions to look after her, despite her being only two years younger than him. He wished his older sister could babysit his younger one, but she rode a different bus; the one that went to Ylisstol High.

Many kids were scared to death by their first days in the elementary years, but his little sister was not one of them. She was independent and extroverted, excited at the prospect of a new ritual for the school year to come.

Personally, he had long since gotten over that anxiety. Summer was much better than school, but that excitement to be _out_ of school wouldn't kick in for his sister for a year or so yet.

Bored of staring at the same old neighborhood, he got to his knees on the seat, scanning the bus for any new faces. Most of the kids were in his past classes, with some being the obvious younger siblings of them.

As he looked around, his eyes stopped on a shock of white hair a few rows back. Strange, he'd never seen that before. He straightened his back to get a better look at the kid. His skin was tan like the leaves on the grass in those houses' yards, and his eyes were golden brown, reminding him of old pages from books that were centuries old. His father had plenty of books like that. This child must've been Plegian.

The kid sat diagonal from him, with some sort of novel open in his lap. He appeared to be about the boy's own age, and if this was true, he wondered if the boy was going to be in his class.

He felt a hand tugging on his shorts. "Stop staring, Chrom," his sister said.

He sunk down into his seat, slightly embarrassed at having been caught. It was surprising, though, that there was a Plegian going to the capital's elementary school. Ylisse was never one to turn away immigrants, but the country was nearly at war with Plegia at the moment.

Chrom's father was a general in the Ylissean army, stationed in the other country. He was never sure how to feel about that, especially when his big sister was always saying it was wrong to be waging useless war and stirring up tensions. He didn't really get what that meant, but he knew his sister was very bright and compassionate.

His thoughts were paused once the bus pulled up to his school, and students began to file out. He shrugged his thoughts off, figuring he'd find out about the Plegian boy soon enough.

 

 

_"Your dad sounds really mean."_

_"Shouldn't I get punished if I mess up?"_

_"Everybody screws up," Henry replied. "Doesn't mean you should get hit over the smallest stuff."_

_Robin shrugged. "I mess up at everything, though."_

_Henry quirked his eyebrow. "Is it that_ you _mess up, or your_ dad _messes up?"_

_"I…"_

 

 

Chrom discovered that the Plegian boy was in his class, when all of the students gathered to sit in random desks once the bell rang.

Under the teacher's instruction, the class went around the room and shared their names, their birthdays, and one thing they did during summer.

"I'm Chrom," he said once it was his turn, "my birthday's May twenty-seventh, and over the summer my family went up to Ferox."

The Plegian boy sat in the desk in front of his, making it his turn next. The boy let out a small cough, and in the heaviest accent Chrom had ever heard (he could hardly make out the words), he quietly said, "My name is Robin, my birthday is January one, and in summer, I did learn Ylissean."

Laughter erupted in the room at his grammar, and Robin's face flushed as his head sunk between his shoulders.

 _Poor guy_ , Chrom thought, wishing he could make everyone stop cackling. The teacher raised her hand, causing the outright snickering to decease, but muffled giggles continued throughout the room. She turned to Robin and said kindly, "You're doing very well, Robin. We're glad to have you."

Chrom mentally agreed; he didn't know a lick of Plegian, and this kid had practiced Ylissean for only a few _months_.

Once the class's sharing activity continued, Chrom leaned forward and tapped Robin's shoulder. The Plegian boy whipped around with wide eyes, making Chrom jump.

He lightly shook his head to clear it, then whispered to Robin. "Ignore the other kids, you're doing great. I dunno any Plegian, so you're _galaxies_ ahead of me."

He wondered for a second if the meaning was lost on the other boy, but Robin's face lit up at the praise (even if he didn't fully get it). "Thank you, Chrom," he whispered back, before turning to face forward again.

Chrom sat back in his own seat, pleasantly surprised that Robin had remembered his name. It had sounded very nice in his soft voice, and Plegian accent.

He brought up his elbow onto his desk to rest his cheek against his hand.

_You're welcome, Robin._


	3. Happy Potatoes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: physical abuse (nothing too graphic)

_"Where were ya, Va_ late _dar?" Henry said, standing on the curb next to a beige, old station wagon. "Why're you so mean ta Robin?"_

_Robin felt his face lose its color. He looked around the back of the driver's seat at his father's expression, finding only a lack thereof. It shocked him, especially with the alcohol he could smell in the car. Had Henry not noticed?_

_His father only rolled up his window before speeding away from the curb, where Henry jumped back with a sharp yelp._

 

 

Chrom swung his lunch pack at his side, walking to his usual table. His next-door neighbor and life-long friend Frederick was already sitting there alongside Lissa, wiping off the residue of cleaning products with napkins.

She held her lunch above her head saying "It's good enough!" and "A little Lysol won't kill me!"

"What if you put your apple on the table and get chemicals all over it?"

"Oh big _whoop!_ "

"Let her eat, dude," Chrom chuckled as he sat down on the bench connected to the table. Frederick gasped in horror when he put his bag on the tabletop. Lissa pointed at their friend's face and laughed.

"The things I do for you two," he sighed, placing his tray down as well. "Regardless, how was your morning, Chrom?" Frederick was in the grade above his, so he wasn't in his class.

"Fine," he said indifferently. "I kinda felt bad though with everyone laughing at this new Plegian kid, Robin."

"Oh, you mean the white-haired boy with the black sweatshirt?"

"What?" Chrom twisted around, scanning the cafeteria. "Where'd you see him?"

Frederick pointed across the room, toward the table next to the trash cans and recycling bins. It was vacant except for Robin, sitting at the end of the table bench.

Chrom stood up, grabbing his lunch bag. "I'm gonna go sit with him. You guys don't have to come if you don't want to."

Frederick tilted his head. "He's Plegian." Chrom knew his mother was a social worker, and that she told him about the Plegian kids tending to be more unruly than Ylissean ones. Those stories probably weren't doing Frederick much good.

"And?" Chrom eyed him. "All the more reason he could use a friend."

His friend shrugged. "Suit it yourself. I'll keep a spot open."

 

 

_The palm connecting with his face took Robin by surprise. The tingling spread through his already numbing cheek, and he took a breath to steady himself._

_His father, who had been emotionless a minute ago, now had a bright red color throughout his face._

_"I oughta lock you up is what I oughta do!" he shouted, glaring at Robin. He wanted to cover his ears, but knew his father would just get angrier if he did._

_"I'm sorry, sir," Robin said quietly, trying to keep voice from wavering. When he felt like crying, his throat would swell up and make his voice high-pitched. If it did, his father would scream at him to 'talk normal.'_

_"Do you want to get taken away, boy?!"_

_"No, sir."_

_"Do you want to get snatched up in the night and taken away?!"_

_"No, sir."_

_"Then keep your mouth shut!"_

 

 

Chrom approached the other lunch table. Robin sat with the same book he had on the bus open in his lap, appearing not to have noticed Chrom. He frowned slightly at Robin's lunch; it was the one the school gave to the poor kids that couldn't afford the normal lunch.

It was always some simple sandwich with a small carton of milk. Today's was ham and cheese.

Chrom set his lunch pack down, causing Robin to look up with wide eyes. Upon seeing Chrom, his expression softened.

"Hang on a sec," Chrom held up his finger, then turned on the ball of his foot to jog to the hot lunch line. The line was short, and soon he brought back a tray, setting it in front of Robin.

Robin tilted his head to the side, his expression showing his confusion.

Chrom sat down on the bench across from Robin. "It's for you," he said, then held up his own lunch. "I've got my own, see?"

Robin gently slid the tray back to Chrom. "No thank you."

Chrom pushed it back. "No kidding. My family's got plenty of money. Not to brag or anything, but I mean—y'know, we've got lots to spare."

Robin looked at him for a moment, then glanced down at the tray. It had a cheeseburger with smiley fries, alongside a serving of apple sauce. He picked up one of the fries, holding it in front of his face in examination. "Ylisse has happy potatoes?"

Chrom's lips broke into a grin. "Smiley fries, yeah. Do you have them in Plegia?—er, you're from Plegia, right?"

"Yes. Plegia has fried potatoes," Robin replied, dipping the fry in ketchup. "They do not do this—" he pointed to his face, giving a quick smile, "—at you."

"Well, maybe they should," Chrom said, taking a salad and a fork out of his lunch.

The corners of Robin's mouth spread. "Yes, maybe."

Chrom took a bite of his food. "Y'know, I meant it when I said you're good at Ylissean." He swallowed before continuing. "If you ever need any help, you can always ask me. I know it's scary to be in a new place and not know a soul, but I can promise you're safe with me and my friends."

"Friends?" the Plegian boy echoed.

Chrom nodded and turned his body. "See the girl with the blonde hair and twin tails?" he pointed to his sister, glancing back over his shoulder at Robin. He nodded. "She's my sister. The kids at that table are our friends."

"Do they like Plegian people?"

Chrom faced forward again, lips dropping into a frown. It was unfortunate Robin had to even worry about that. "Some of them are wary of Plegians, but only because of the tensions between our countries."

"No thank you," Robin shook his head. "I do not know them."

Chrom blinked. "Oh, uh… maybe some other time then."

"Yes," he said. "You tell them Plegian people are good. I talk to them then."

Chrom figured that was reasonable. He thought back to Frederick's confusion at him sitting with a Plegian. He then agreed that it'd probably be best he talk to his friends first. Robin seemed to be a nice kid; Chrom was sure he'd fit in soon enough.

 

  
Robin stepped off the bus, and a boy with blonde hair and tan skin (for an Ylissean) followed behind him. If Robin could recall correctly, he was one of Chrom's friends named… _Rake? Shake?_ Those were not right at all, but they were the best guesses Robin had.

During math class, the boy had been throwing paper airplanes at Chrom, who'd just crumple them up and toss them into the recycling bin from his desk. Robin had had to keep himself from giggling.

He unchained his bike from the bench he'd locked it to, then rode off, still trying to remember the kid's name.

As they went their separate ways into their neighborhood, Robin saw that the other boy was now shirtless. In _September_. Still outside and in _public_.

He wondered if he was wrong about Chrom being friends with that kid.

Inwardly he somewhat hoped so.

 

 

Robin hopped off his bike, then locked it to the fence surrounding his house's tiny porch. He took his key out of his bag, carefully opening his front door.

The living room television was on some show that featured old sports clips from football championships. Beer cans littered the carpet with the last of their liquid contents leaking out, creating small puddles of stains. Robin breathed through his mouth; he couldn't stand the smell of beer.

"Where were you?" his father grumbled, lifting his head from the couch.

Robin swallowed. "School."

"Oh. Yeah." His head dropped onto the armrest. Snoring soon filled the room.

Robin hurried up the stairs to his bedroom, quietly closing the door and settling down on the mattress in the corner of the room.

Within minutes, a knock sounded. "It's me," a feminine voice said from the other side of his door.

"Come in," he responded.

His sister entered and carefully shut the door once more; both siblings felt mutually nervous when they left their bedrooms open.

"How was your first day, love?" Aversa asked, sitting criss cross next to the mattress. "Did everything go alright?"

Robin scowled. "Kids kept laughing from my bad Ylissean. And nobody wanted to talk to me, probably thinking I'd go Plegian _terrorist_ on them or something."

She frowned. "Didn't anyone come up to you?"

"Well there was one boy, Chrom," he replied, slightly tilting his head. "He was really nice to me and stayed with me the whole day."

His sister's face lit up. "That's wonderful! Were you able to hold a conversation with him?"

"Kinda, I surprised myself with how good I was doing," Robin said, feeling his cheeks warm. "He said I was really good at Ylissean."

Aversa nudged him with her elbow. "See, I _told_ you you knew what you were doing."

He snorted. "Maybe."

In the back of his mind, he pictured Chrom sitting at his original lunch table, surrounded by his Ylissean friends. He wondered if Chrom would eventually be drawn away from him and go back to his regular group, where no Plegians had ever set foot. Robin hardly even spoke their language, and first days of school never guaranteed a thing. Why should Chrom stick around with him?

He wasn't anything special.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think its somewhat obvious plegia is meant to represent a middle eastern country, hence robin saying ylisseans might think hes a terrorist (since thats obv a very racist and apparent remark that are made towards arabians/muslims)
> 
> not sure ill dive too far into exploring racism besides whats super obvious? but ya i figure for now its bc theres been tension between plegia and ylisse
> 
> anyways i got more planning and writing to do so see ya in the next chapter
> 
> edit 6/9/18 - havent forgotten about this! like i said i have a lot of planning and things to reconsider so it might be a bit!! thanks for being patient!
> 
> edit 6/12/18 - revised a couple things from the chapters posted, but i may do a complete rewrite of them?? so it could take a bit lmao thanks for bearing with me


	4. May

The next day, Robin made it his mission to get as comfortable with the idea of Chrom's Ylissean friends as possible. If he were to keep his footing as one of Chrom's friends, he'd have to meet them and fit in.

Wow, talk about a stressful second day of school.

On the bus that morning, he sat with Chrom in the window seat and tried to contribute to whatever he and his group were talking about. Frederick looked surprised whenever Robin spoke up, but neither boy said anything about it.

Apparently even with the language barrier, the other kids found the content of Robin's words funny. Sure, they'd giggle when he said something grammatically off, but he learned to laugh at it, too, and was learning the group's humor. He supposed that was a good start.

Once the bus arrived at school, Chrom walked beside Robin and said, "I thought you wanted to wait to meet my friends?"

Robin's mind went into panic before he could respond. _I didn't mean to lie to you, I swear! I'm sorry, please don't ignore me or get mad at me or—_

"Robin?"

He forced the thoughts to the back of his head as he focused once more on Chrom. His hand was gently holding Robin's shoulder.

"You okay, dude?" Chrom's blue eyes were round with worry. "You kinda blanked out for a sec there."

Robin gave a quick nod and tapped his fingers on the thigh of his washed-out jeans. "I am sorry," he said, fighting to keep his voice from stuttering. "I changed my mind, and I want to meet your Ylissean friends."

"Oh." Chrom blinked, then smiled. "Well that's good! Sit with us at lunch?"

"Yes." Whew. Crisis averted.

 

  
Robin clasped his hands together on his lap as Chrom walked over to the table and sat down on the bench across from him. The Ylissean boy put a tray in front of Robin, then opened his own lunch bag. Chrom had bought him the school lunch again. Today it was mac and cheese with green beans.

After examining the food and deciding Chrom would insist he have it, Robin looked up to see a little blonde-haired girl with twin-tails was walking up from behind his friend. She leaned down by his ear and shrieked " _Boo!_ ", causing Chrom to fly backwards onto the floor shouting "What the heck!"

She just cackled and skipped over to Robin's side of the table, sitting down next to him. She had an exact copy of the lunch bag Chrom had. "Did I getcha?" she said in a sing-song voice.

Chrom sat back up with a groan and glared at her. "Ha ha," he said flatly, reaching one hand to rub his neck. "Robin, this is my sister Lissa. Or that's what Mom says she is."

"Whuzzat s'posed to mean?" she asked challengingly, throwing a plastic spoon at her brother. He caught it in his lap and put the utensil in his lunch pack. "Hey!" Lissa whined, getting to her knees and reaching across the table at Chrom. "I need that for jello!"

He swiped her hand away. "We're in public, ya dingbat! After you finish your fruit." She sat on her rear again and let out an annoyed huff. Chrom looked at Robin with a sympathetic expression. "Sorry."

Robin gave a small smile, amused by his friend and his sister. They sure were different than he and Aversa. "It is okay."

The three began eating their food as the rest of Chrom's friends began to show up. Frederick was first, simply giving a polite "Good morning" to Robin. Then there was a bulky girl with short red hair named Sully and a Rosannite boy in a sweater vest named Virion. The kid who had taken his shirt off at Robin's bus stop came, too, and kept trying to start a food fight by randomly tossing grapes. His name was Vaike. Some shy girl whose name Robin didn't catch came along with a tall guy, Stahl, a snobbish girl, Maribelle, a nerdy girl, Miriel, and a small guy with a gigantic puffy jacket, Kellam. The table was filled by the group, and Robin was surprised by just how popular Chrom appeared to be. He was a very nice person, though, so it wasn't all that much of a shock.

At recess, they played a playground-wide game of tag. Robin wasn't an athlete by any means, but he was pretty good at slipping around unnoticed. Chrom would tease him whenever he finally got tagged, which tended to result in Lissa, Vaike, and Sully holding his arms so Robin could tag Chrom and run off again.

The rest of the day had been more friendly overall compared to Robin's first day, and once he was back home in his bedroom, he couldn't help but feel for the first time since arriving to Ylisse, that maybe things would be okay.

 

  
At times it seemed never-ending, but the school year flew by for Robin regardless. There were its ups and downs of course, but it typically wasn't long before his new friends from the beginning of the year cheered him up.

Alongside birthdays, Robin spent the holidays with his friend group, something he wasn't very accustomed to since his mother passed away.

For Halloween, he and Chrom wore matching costumes of Red and Green respectively from Pokémon.

Over Thanksgiving, Chrom invited Robin to his family's dinner and took him shopping for Black Friday.

Robin was at Chrom's house again on Christmas and New Year's, and for Valentine's Day, Chrom helped Robin pay to give the rest of their friends school-distributed candy grams.

Spring Break had been difficult since Chrom's family had left for vacation in Chon'sin, but Robin quickly forgot about it when Chrom invited him to an Easter egg hunt in his neighborhood a couple weeks later.

 

 

It was the end of May now, and only one day of school remained. Robin was excited for the first time to have the summer off, as it meant he would have more time to hang out with the wonderful friends he'd made that year rather than sit in his bedroom until September.

Only one more day to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *rubs hands together like a fly*
> 
> excited for this to start transitioning! also did some minor edits to previous chapters.


	5. Last Day

As soon as Robin woke, he jumped up from his mattress and got started in his morning routine, as if it were to make his last day of school go faster. He poured a bowl of two year old Cheerios and gobbled it down, then brushed his teeth as quickly as possible, and took much less care than usual when flossing.

His father and sister were nowhere to be seen throughout his morning; the former was welcomed, but the latter made Robin curious. Aversa was eighteen, however, and had friends to drive her to school; it wasn't _that_ big of a deal, just _unusual_ was all.

Robin unlocked his bike from his porch and rode to his bus stop, where Vaike was already sitting. They exchanged a friendly greeting before the school bus came, and Robin sat in his usual seat while he waited for Chrom's pickup.

Once his friend was on the bus, they easily took to conversation. "Last day of school, eh Robin?" Chrom lightly punched his arm, earning a giggle from his Plegian friend.

"Yeah. I'm excited for summer. I haven't felt excitement for it since I was younger," he replied. His Ylissean had gotten much better over the past nine months, and he could speak about as fluently as the kids who had lived there their entire lives.

"Cool!" Chrom said. "We're gonna have a ton of fun playing over the summer. Emm promised she'd take us to the waterpark Tuesday!"

"Really?" Robin squeaked, allowing his voice to take an all new octave. "I haven't gone to one of those in _forever!_ "

Chrom smiled. "It's funny when your Plegian comes back." Robin put his face in his palms as he felt red-hot warmth bursting in his cheeks. "Hey, hey, it's not a bad thing!" Chrom laughed. "I said it's funny, like a good funny!" He put his arms around Robin's shoulders and playfully shook him, causing Robin to sheepishly surrender his head from his hands with a lop-sided grin. Chrom would always tease him whenever he got excited and his Plegian accent would creep back into his speech; and it really did embarrass Robin, as he always tried to keep his demeanor controlled. Usually it'd make him very upset with anyone else, but with his best friend, he could let it slide.

It was the last day, after all. He'd cherish these types of joyful moments from school forever.

 

 

Robin sat on the pavement next to where four-square games had been drawn with chalk, thrumming his fingers against the ground. Shrieks of laughter were emitted from the playground and the large, open field behind it, where all of the children from the elementary school played.

For the last hour of the school day, all teachers had permitted their classes to play to their heart's content until the bell rang and the school buses pulled in.

Any other day, Robin would play with his friends, but he was antsy to go home and begin his summer. The activities from the day had worn him out, and he was ready to just get up and leave. Too bad he hadn't brought a book today.

Idly, he drew randomly with chalk on the black asphalt. He was no artist by any means, but it was still fun to laugh at the doodles. He tried drawing himself and Chrom, but they looked more like two pieces of messed up coral. Oh well.

"Whatcha doin'?"

Poor Robin nearly launched out of his skin, throwing the piece of chalk in his hand roughly fifteen feet behind him. Chrom chuckled above him and sat down next to him, gently grabbing his shoulder.

"You okay?" he giggled.

"Yeah, I'm doing good for just having a _heart attack_ ," Robin replied, doing his best to sound annoyed. His best friend just laughed more.

"Sorry, sorry. But seriously," Chrom said, "why aren't you playing with us?"

"We've been playing all day in like, every class," Robin shrugged. "I just wanted a second. Plus I wanna start my summer."

The blue-haired boy nodded. "True. Mind if I join ya?"

"Nope."

"So, what were you drawing?" Chrom asked curiously, before backtracking. "Er, not that it's bad—"

The Plegian boy smiled. "It's okay, I know it sucks. It's you and me." Then his brain caught up with what he'd just said. "I-I was gonna put everyone else, until I got d-distracted," Robin added quickly with a light laugh, trying to cover up his previous words. Boys didn't just say those types of things to other boys.

"Well I like it," his friend said simply. "Reminds me of me 'n' you."

Color dusted his cheeks. "Tch. Thanks Chrom."

"Say, Robin," he said, his tone changing to something more solemn. "I just wanna say before we all run outta here for the summer, I wanna thank you for being my friend and giving me and my friends a chance the way you did."

"Don't get too serious on me, here," Robin grinned widely, feeling giddiness flutter in his chest. "No, but really, I'm happy for that and all, but _you_ were the one that gave me a chance when people just saw a weird Plegian. I gotta thank you for that, Chrom."

"Eh, no biggie," Chrom responded with a half smile, lifting his hand to rub the back of his neck.

Just then, the bell rang, marking the end of their fourth grade year. Chrom stood up and offered a hand to Robin, who accepted graciously, and was pulled to stand aside his best friend.

"See ya soon?"

"Definitely."

 

  
Robin whistled happily as he locked his bike to his front porch. He took out his house keys and fit them into the door's keyhole, surprised to find the door was already unlocked.

He opened the door to see some stranger that was dressed somewhat like a cop, as well as Validar sitting on the couch and Aversa standing with her arms crossed. Their faces were unreadable.

The cop person turned to his family and asked, "Is this Robin?"

Aversa nodded wordlessly, and the stranger gestured for him to come in. He carefully closed the door behind him, anxiety sparking in his chest. He gathered himself and mustered up the courage to squeak, "…What's going on?"

"Hello, Robin. I'm Agent Brand," she said. She showed him an identification card attached to her lanyard. "I'm with Child Protective Services."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> big oof..
> 
> so yall ready for the big time skip


	6. Syllabus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: self harm implied

He had spent the previous evening by having a breakdown. He sat in his bedroom closet sniffling and hiccuping, in attempt to keep broken sobs from escaping him. He held his knees against his chest with his head bent between them, white bangs covering his upper field of vision. His arms were wrapped around himself, clawing at his shoulders in vain. He was five months clean; he could get through this without any blood.

He eventually did manage to find an uneasy form of sleep, drifting in and out of consciousness with the marks of his nails dotting his upper arms, and awful fits of shivering. He couldn't fully comprehend what his dark dreams entailed, but he couldn't escape the feeling of terror they caused until he had woken up for good.

Now at five o'clock in the morning, the teenager sat silently on his front door step as a black prius pulled up the driveway. His nightmares from a mere hour ago had dissipated into the back of his mind, where only a heavy fog remained.

A tall man stepped out of the car, but did not move from his position beside the driver-side door. The man's face was a bit fuller and held more color since he had last seen him, but his body was still as lanky as ever. He supposed he had to get his own similar physique from somewhere.

"Robin."

He stood up and moved over to the car. The man gingerly took his luggage and put it in the trunk. Dim surprise passed through him at the polite gesture, but his face remained stoic and unexpressive. He couldn't lose his focus now; not that he was going to. After breakdowns, he always felt emptier than usual, and it was almost too easy to remain deadpan when he was like this.

"Father."

 

   
_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Be—_

_Slam!_

Chrom smacked his hand down on his alarm clock, tired as all hell from being up until around two A.M. the night before. He had been texting, watching videos, whatever, the usual. Maybe not the smartest move, since today was the first day of school, but there wasn't much to be done about it now. Except maybe coffee.

He urged himself up, making a plate of scrambled eggs in the kitchen. He decided against the coffee (he really needed to watch the caffeine) and opted for orange juice instead, along with some supplements. After wolfing that down, he brushed his teeth and took a quick shower.

Chrom slipped on a random t-shirt, a pair of black skinny jeans, and his school's navy and white letterman jacket, before finishing his outfit off with his white Adidas with dark blue stripes on the sides. Nothing fancy, he wore pretty much the same combination everyday.

He grabbed his bag and walked back out to the kitchen to see his younger sister groggily eating a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. He supposed he had time to spare, so he scrolled through Snapchat until Lissa was ready to go. Then, they went out to his car and headed off to school.

 

   
Literally only one class in, Chrom had trouble keeping his head off of his desk. He knew the day was bound to be boring, as all of teachers would be droning on about their _syllabi_ and whatnot, but this was ridiculous. Maybe he _should've_ had that coffee.

He felt his phone buzz, and he glanced down as he unlocked it.

 

 **7:22 A.M. - fredward bear:** It would do you well to pay attention. This information is vital to our academic careers.

 

He looked back up to see the back of Frederick's head three rows in front of him.

 

 **7:23 A.M. - Me:** you had to turn around to even see me

 **7:23 A.M. - fredward bear:** Do not try to change the subject.

 **7:24 A.M. - fredward bear:** Get off of your phone.

 

He'd like to have pointed out Frederick was on his phone as well, but decided it wasn't worth it.

 

 **7:25 A.M. - Me:** k

 

Chrom slipped his phone in his pocket, then rested his chin on his desk. He tried, he really did, to listen to the teacher, but it was so. boring. How did you make a syllabus reading more boring than it already was. You had to _try_ to make something that boring.

Then some new voice was speaking, someone sitting in a desk across the room from him. Masculine, not one he recognized, stable in quality. It was a bit higher pitched than his, but nowhere near feminine tones.

It piqued his interest, and Chrom sat up and leaned forward to get a look at whoever was talking. White hair. Tan skin. Brown eyes. Recognition hit him like a ton of bricks.

It was his old best friend from fourth grade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cant believe chrom just him hit with a "k" the absolute madman..
> 
> edit: 69 kudos amirite ladies..


	7. The First Lunch

Chrom's seat slipped from beneath him with how far he had been leaning forward on the front two legs, causing the chair to fly out behind him, and for him to land directly on his ass. Of course the class burst out in laughter, and honestly, Chrom couldn't help but laugh too, despite the embarrassment that was most likely evident in the color of his cheeks.

While he rose and picked up his chair, he noticed Frederick was looking back at him just shaking his head in disapproval, while Robin had his hand over his mouth with his eyebrows raised. The teacher, a middle-aged overweight man with a godsawful haircut, was staring at him as well with a nasty look on his face.

"Sorry about that," Chrom said sincerely, and carefully sat down at his desk; he didn't typically enjoy interrupting and being disrespectful to teachers.

"You'd better be," the man snarled. Chrom couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the teacher's demeanor as he turned around and continued lecturing. He then looked down again as his phone vibrated in his pocket.

 

 **7:46 A.M. - fredward bear:** Are you alright?

 **7:46 A.M. - Me:** yea my tailbonw will probs be killing me for the rest of the day tho

 **7:47 A.M. - fredward bear:** Serves you right for interrupting class time.

 **7:48 A.M. - Me:** ok whatever

 

The bell was to ring in two minutes, and students had began packing up their things. Since the teacher had finished his lecture and people were shuffling around, Chrom took the chance to try and say 'hi' to Robin.

He made his way around the desks and groups of chatting kids to the Plegian teenager, now registering just how different he looked from when they were kids. Chrom had been just an inch or two taller than him when he last saw him, but now Robin was about five foot eight, and Chrom was around six one. Robin's body had matured to some extent, but he still had a bit of a boyish curve in his face. He was also pretty skinny, and he couldn't have been over a hundred thirty pounds.

But Robin still had that same messy white hair, and the same eyes that reminded him of the warm color of faded book pages you'd find at the library. He still wore a black hoodie, but this one appeared to be purple on the inside and had a design of the same color on the sleves, some gold accents, with the strings and zippers were white. His jeans were gray, but were perhaps blue at an earlier point in time, and holes were beginning to form at the knees. He also had some type of brace that stretched from his mid-forearm to above his wrist, covering the top of his hand. Chrom wondered if he had some type of injury.

Robin was reading a book at his desk, and Chrom couldn't help but snort. Perhaps his old friend really hadn't changed a bit. At the noise, however, the Plegian teen snapped his head in immediate response, eyes darting up to Chrom's face.

It made Chrom jump; he had never seen Robin look so… _wild_ , before. He appeared to be very on edge and alert despite the bags under his eyes.

"Chrom?" Robin asked, seeming to calm down a bit.

"Yeah!" Chrom said, offering a grin. "It's been awhile, huh? How are you dude?" Perhaps awhile was an understatement, but he supposed one had to break the ice somehow.

Robin gave a small smile. "I've been better," he said with a shrug.

"First day of another year of high school feels?"

The Plegian teen looked down at his book again. "Something like that, I suppose."

He let out a sigh as the bell rang, marking his page and slipping the book into his backpack. He stood up and gave a nod to Chrom. "Good to see you again."

"Woah, hold up," Chrom chuckled, grasped his shoulder before he could walk away. Then he quickly dropped his hand to his side; you don't touch someone you haven't seen since fourth grade. "You're not getting off that easy. We've just barely said 'hi'!"

Robin half-smiled, but didn't meet his eyes, then gestured for Chrom to follow him out of the classroom. The Ylissean teen picked up his backpack from his desk and jogged after the Plegian into the already crowded halls.

"What's your next class?" Chrom asked over the noise of other conversations and shuffling of students transitioning to their next periods.

"AP Physics in room two-oh-four," Robin replied.

"Damn, you're taking some advanced stuff," Chrom said. "AP Ylissean and AP Physics?"

The shorter teen shrugged. "I'm gonna need whatever I can get."

Chrom was somewhat off-put by that response, but he pushed it away, not wanting to pry. An intersection of the hall was coming up, and he knew he and Robin would have to split ways soon (if they were to be on-time, that is).

"Hey, talk to you later, okay?"

"Will do." Robin then turned the corner, disappearing into the flow of traffic.

 

   
Chrom's second period teacher seemed very chill, a stark contrast from the guy in his first hour. He was a pretty big guy with no hair, a metal-ass scar over his left eye, and a full beard that reached down past his neck.

"I get this syllabus stuff is pretty boring, especially when you get them all day and you've just gotten back from break," the teacher said to start out the class, "Just promise me you'll check it out later if you nod off for the next fifty minutes."

That was pretty fair to Chrom. He decided to take out his phone and text Frederick again, half-listening to his teacher's lecture while he typed.

 

 **8:05 A.M. - Me:** yo did you see robin in first hour

 **8:08 A.M. - fredward bear:** You mean Robin from fourth grade?

 **8:09 A.M. - fredward bear:** Also pay attention.

 **8:10 A.M. - Me:** the teacher said we didnt have to listen and yea that robin

 **8:12 A.M. - fredward bear:** I highly doubt that but I know it won't stop you either way.

 

Chrom snorted.

 

 **8:13 A.M. - Me:** anyways robins in our first hour

 **8:14 A.M. - Me:** shit i shouldve asked for his number id love to catch up with him

 **8:19 A.M. - fredward bear:** It's (371) 989-0774.

 **8:20 A.M. - Me:** wtf how

 **8:22 A.M. - fredward bear:** That's the number he received when first getting his phone, I presume.

  

Chrom groaned inwardly; Frederick had a pretty dry sense of humor.

  

 **8:23 A.M. - Me:** no like how did you get it

 **8:25 A.M. - fredward bear:** I asked him for it.

 **8:25 A.M. - Me:** naga nvm would it be weird if i started texting him

 **8:28 A.M. - fredward bear:** No, he knows that you have his number.

 

Chrom dropped his forehead to his desk. His friend's directness would be the death of him; it wasn't like Chrom couldn't be horribly awkward as well, but he was better at navigating social situations than Frederick. He figured at least Robin knew Frederick and how he could be.

He put the number in his contacts and switched conversations.

 

 **8:30 A.M. - Me:** hey sorry about frederick lol btw its chrom

 **8:34 A.M. - robin!:** Don't worry about it

 

Chrom thrummed his fingers against his screen for a moment, trying to figure out how to make a conversation.

 

 **8:37 A.M. - Me:** sorry if this is kinda outta nowhere but do you wanna sit with me and the others at lunch?

 

Fuck it, whatever.

 

 **8:38 A.M. - Me:** everyone you knew in elementary is still here plus a few

 

He quirked his lip as he waited for a reply; was that weird? They were best friends when they were kids, and Robin was new to the school this year, so it made sense that he'd want to reconnect with Robin, right?

Chrom had last seen his old friend on that last day of school in fourth grade; everything from there on was silent. He had no way of contacting Robin, and since he never went to Robin's house as a kid, he didn't know where he lived, either. Vaike had said he was in the same neighborhood, but that Robin lived quite a ways from the bus stop.

Maybe Robin had moved on from their friendship; it _had_ been about six years.

His thoughts nearly caused him to miss it when Robin responded.

 

 **8:42 A.M. - robin!:** We'll see, I think I'll be sitting with a couple friends from my old school and 2/3 of us aren't huge on big groups

 

Chrom didn't realize Robin had any people he knew at the school; it made sense though, it _was_ Ylisstol's main high school. Plenty of kids would have access to it and of course Robin would know somebody here.

 

 **8:43 A.M. - Me:** no worries, its all cool

 **8:44 A.M. - robin!:** If you'd wanna sit by us and introduce yourself that'd probs be easier for my one friend

 **8:45: A.M. - robin!:** She can be kinda weird though just a warning

 **8:45 A.M. - Me:** im sure it will be fine lol

 

 

It was not.

Robin's friend, some goth named Tharja, was glaring daggers at Chrom the entire time. Then some big three hundred pound dude that was almost seven feet tall from the wrestling team noticed and accused him of ' _bothering_ ' her.

Chrom being the dumbass he was, couldn't get a word out without Robin's other friend, Henry, making some stupid joke about there being no 'caws' to get upset. Which hardly made any sense but Robin explained later Henry had a pet bird?

Anyway, Chrom stepped in before Henry got his teeth knocked out, which ended with him getting a black eye. Robin diffused the situation at the very least by calming the dude down enough to let Tharja handle it.

Afterwards, Tharja just sat there silently with a grim look while Chrom felt like he was probably bleeding out, giving him a quirked lip.

After lunch he found an icepack in his locker with a note that simply read 'sorry.' in black sharpie, all lower case. He didn't bother questioning how she got it in there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so ik this pacing is kinda weird but i wanted to get the chapter out so! we ll see how this all goes


End file.
